Fastening system for fastening a plate within an enclosure

ABSTRACT

A fastening system for fastening a plate within an enclosure for electric installations includes an elongated holder and a support member arranged to be fastened to the holder with a snap-in fastening device. The snap-in fastening device is arranged to fasten the support member detachably to the holder in a direction perpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of the holder and includes a locking device for fastening the support member to the holder at different points along the holder. In order for the fastening system to provide adequate support to a plate to be installed within the enclosure in all applications, the fastening arrangement includes a flexible catch, which, during the placement of the snap-in fastening device into the locking position, is arranged to yield in a direction perpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of the holder, and the locking device includes at least one locking element arranged to keep the support member locked in the longitudinal direction of the holder substantially inflexibly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority to Finnish Patent ApplicationNo. 20075304, filed on May 2, 2007, which is hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a fastening system for fastening a plate, suchas a front plate or a contact protection plate, within an enclosure forelectric installations, the fastening system comprising an elongatedholder to be placed vertically within a base of the enclosure andarranged to be fastened to a corner turret within the enclosure, and asupport member arranged to be fastened to the holder with snap-infastening means, the snap-in fastening means being arranged, in alocking position, to fasten the support member detachably to the holderby means of a flexible component included in the fastening system in adirection perpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of theholder, and the snap-in fastening means comprising locking means forfastening the support member to the holder at different points along thelength of the holder while the snap-in fastening means are in thelocking position.

A fastening system of the above-described type is known from patentpublication U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,816. The main purpose of this knownfastening system is to achieve a system enabling the simple and fastarrangement of the support member and the holder for fastening the plateat the desired height in the enclosure within the enclosure without anyneed for tools in the fastening of the support member to the holder.Even though this known fastening system enables rapid and simplefastening of a plate to the desired height within an enclosure, it hasturned out that in all applications, the flexible protrusions of theholder included in the fastening system do not provide sufficientsupport when the plate is being fastened to the support member. Inaddition, the structure and manufacture of the components included inthe fastening system are relatively complex.

SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to eliminate said drawbacks and provide afastening system of the above-mentioned type having a simple structureand supporting the plate well in all applications when the plate isbeing installed within the enclosure.

To implement this, the flexible component comprises a flexible catch,which, during the placement of the snap-in fastening means into thelocking position, is arranged to yield in a direction perpendicularrelative to the longitudinal direction of the holder, wherein thelocking means comprise at least one locking element arranged to keep thesupport member locked in the longitudinal direction of the holdersubstantially inflexibly, wherein an upper surface of the support membercomprises a fastening arrangement for fastening the plate to the supportmember, and wherein an upper end of the holder comprises fastening meansfor fastening the holder to an upper end of the corner turret when thesupport member is locked in the longitudinal direction of the holdersubstantially inflexibly, the support member is unable to twist, thusproviding a firm support for the plate when it is mounted.

Because the snap-in locking is achieved with a component that yields ina direction perpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of theholder, the flexible component does not have to yield in thelongitudinal direction of the holder for achieving the snap-in locking.The support member is arranged to be locked substantially inflexibly inthe longitudinal direction of the holder.

The support member preferably comprises two flexible catches arranged todetachably fasten the support member to two locking rails in the holderthat extend along the holder. Such a support member is easy tomanufacture and install in the holder.

The locking element, which is arranged to keep the support member lockedin the holder, is preferably composed of a protrusion provided in thesupport member and arranged to lock into a recess in the holder forachieving a tenon and mortise type of joint. The structure of such ajoint is very simple and easy to manufacture.

The holder preferably comprises two guide means provided in oppositeflanks thereof for receiving the support member into a sliding position,in which the locking means are in an open position, allowing the supportmember to be slidingly and steplessly moved in the longitudinaldirection of the holder, supported on said guide means. Such a solutionmakes it extremely easy to install the support member in the desiredposition of the holder and at the desired height within the enclosure.

Preferred embodiments of the fastening system of the invention aredisclosed in the attached claims.

The main advantage of the fastening system of the invention is that isadequately supports the plate to be installed in the enclosure in allapplications when the plate is being installed in the support member andalso when the plate is being detached from the support member, and atthe same time it enables rapid and easy fastening of the support memberto the holder without any need to use tools.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In the following, the invention will be described in more detail inconnection with exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows the application environment, i.e. an enclosure, of thefastening system of the invention,

FIG. 2 shows an inside view of a corner of the enclosure according toFIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the holder of the fastening systemaccording to the invention,

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a support member of the fasteningsystem according to the invention,

FIG. 5 shows a front view of the support member of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 shows the fastening arrangement of FIGS. 3 and 4 in a slidingposition, and

FIG. 7 shows the fastening arrangement of FIGS. 3 and 4 in a lockingposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an enclosure for electric installations. The enclosurecomprises a base 1 and a cover 2. The base 1 comprises a bottom 3, andfour sides 4 to 7. The bottom 3 and the sides 6 and 7 are shown in FIG.2, which shows an inside view of a corner of the enclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates that all corners of the enclosure are provided withcorner turrets 8. When the intention is to install a plate, such as acontact protection plate, within the enclosure of FIGS. 1 and 2, it isinstalled at a given height depending on the application. For installingthe plate within the enclosure, the fastening system illustrated inFIGS. 3 to 7 is used, which fastens to the corner turret 8. Thefastening system comprises an elongated holder 9, which has an upper endand a lower end, and a support member 10 to be detachably fastenedthereto with a snap-in joint.

The upper end of the holder 9 is designed flange-like and comprisesfastening means 11 for fastening the holder vertically to the cornerturret 8. The fastening means comprise two protrusions 12, 13 that areinstalled in notches, grooves or recesses 14, 15 (see FIG. 2) in theupper end of the corner turret 8. Thanks to the protrusions 12, 13 andthe notches, the holder 9 can be kept in place in the corner turret 8sufficiently well in order to be able to install the support member 10and the plate 16, of which only one corner is shown in FIG. 7, in place.The final fastening of the holder 9 to the corner turret 8 is securedwith a screw 29 or the like fastening means, which is inserted into ahole 17 at the upper end, which is flange-like. The lower end of theholder 9 is not fastened to the bottom of the enclosure; it sufficesthat the upper end of the holder is fastened to the upper part of thecorner turret 8. Said arrangement is highly recommendable because itallows a holder 9 of the same length to be used in enclosures havingsignificantly different heights. Another significant advantage is thatthe plate 16 (see FIG. 7) can be removed from the enclosure simply byopening the screw 29 (or another fastening member) for keeping theholder fastened to the corner turret 8 at the upper end of the holder 9.

The holder 9 comprises two vertical rows of recesses or holes 18. Theholes 18 are arranged to receive horizontal pins 19 in the supportmember 10 (see FIGS. 4 and 5), that can be installed at the pair ofholes at whose height the support member 10 is to be installed in theholder 9. The holder 9 of FIG. 3 enables the installation of the holdermember 10 at ten different heights. The number of holes 18 in the holder9 and their distance in the vertical, i.e. longitudinal direction of theholder may naturally be different. It is feasible that the supportmember 10 only comprises one pin, whereby it correspondingly sufficesthat the holder 9 only comprises one vertical row of holes.

FIG. 4 shows the support member 10 obliquely from above and FIG. 5 thesupport member seen in the direction of arrow A of FIG. 4. The supportmember 10 comprises two flexible branches 20, 21. The branches 20, 21are arranged to yield in the horizontal direction, i.e. in the directionperpendicular relative to the longitudinal direction of the holder 9,which is illustrated by double arrows in FIG. 4. The design of thebranches 20, 21 is such that in practice they do not yield in thelongitudinal direction of the holder 9, thanks to which the uppersurface 31 of the support member 10 and the fastening hole 28 thereincannot twist (bend), but provide the plate 16 with good support when itis being fastened to the fastening hole 28 of the support member.Instead of the fastening hole 28, the support member 10 may be providedwith a recess or another fastening arrangement for fastening the plate16.

FIG. 6 illustrates from above the holder 9 installed in the cornerturret 8 of the enclosure and the support member 10 in a slidingposition relative thereto. The support member 10 is placed in thesliding position by threading the support member 10 from above on top ofthe holder 9. It is also feasible that the support member 10 is placedin the sliding position in an alternative manner by compressing itperpendicularly against the longitudinal direction of the holder (cf.the direction indicated by arrow B of FIG. 6). Once the support member10 is in the sliding position, the ends of its branches 20, 21 arelocated in grooves 26, 27 formed by longitudinal rail-like protrusions22 to 25 in the flanks of the holder 9, which grooves constitute guidemeans for the support member 10. The grooves 26, 27 enable very easysliding of the support member 10 in the longitudinal direction of theholder 9. Once the support member 10 has been slid to the desiredheight, it is compressed (with fingers) in the direction of arrow B,whereby its branches 20, 21 yield to the sides and settle behind therails 22, 23, wherein they are locked, see FIGS. 6 and 7. At the sametime as the compression takes place in the direction of arrow B, thebranches 20, 21 are preferably compressed towards one another, wherebythe ends of the branches diverge from each other, facilitating thecompression in the direction of arrow B. The rails 22, 23 can be calledlocking rails. As the branches 20, 21 are locked, the pins 19 of thesupport member 10 enter the grooves 18 in the holder 9 and constitute atenon and mortise joint. The pins 19 lock the support member 10 at thedesired height into the holder 9 and prevent the support member 10 frommoving in the longitudinal direction of the holder 9, even if a force inthe longitudinal direction of the holder 9 were directed to the supportmember. The branches 20, 21, the rails 22, 23, the holes 18 and the pins19 constitute snap-in locking means, which enable locking of the supportmember 10 into the desired point of the holder without tools.

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the fastening system in the locking position.Reference numeral 16 denotes the plate, which is fastened to the supportmember 10 at the desired height of the enclosure, and reference numeral30 is a screw or a corresponding fastening member that keeps the plate16 fastened to the support member 10.

In the foregoing, the invention has been described by means of oneexample only and it should therefore be appreciated that the details ofthe invention may be implemented in a plurality of manners within thescope of the attached claims. Accordingly, the design of the holder 9and the support member 10 may deviate from what was described. Insteadof the holder being provided with holes/recesses, the support membercould be provided with holes/recesses, whereby the holder would beprovided with one row of pins or a plurality of rows of pins. Instead ofpins, other types of protrusions can be used. Thus, it is possible thatthe locking element is composed of a recess provided in the supportmember and arranged to be locked into a protrusion in the holder forachieving a tenor and mortise type of joint, whereby, preferably theholder is provided with a plurality of protrusions long the holder. Itis feasible that the support member only comprises one flexible branch.However, the advantage of two branches is that they enable the placementof the support member in the sliding position of the figure. Instead ofa flexible branch (or flexible branches) locking into the holder 9, thesupport member may comprise another type of flexible catch (or othertypes of flexible catches) that lock(s) into a rail or locking member inthe holder. It is also feasible that the catch(s) is (are) arranged inthe holder 9, whereby the support member 10 comprises correspondingrails or other locking members that enable the locking of the supportmember into the holder.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fastening system for fastening a plate, such asa front plate or a contact protection plate, within an enclosure forelectric installations, the fastening system comprising: an elongatedholder configured to be placed vertically within the enclosure andarranged to be fastened to a corner turret within the enclosure; and asupport member arranged to be fastened to the elongated holder withsnap-in fastening means, the snap-in fastening means being arranged, ina locking position, to fasten the support member detachably to theelongated holder by means of a flexible component included in thefastening system in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinaldirection of the elongated holder, and the snap-in fastening meanscomprising locking means for fastening the support member to theelongated holder at different points along the length of the elongatedholder while the snap-in fastening means is in the locking position,wherein the flexible component comprises a flexible catch, the flexiblecatch, during the placement of the snap-in fastening means into thelocking position, being configured to yield in a direction perpendicularto the longitudinal direction of the elongated holder, wherein thelocking means comprises at least one locking element arranged to keepthe support member locked in the longitudinal direction of the elongatedholder substantially inflexibly, wherein an upper surface of the supportmember comprises a fastening arrangement for fastening the plate to thesupport member, and wherein an upper end of the elongated holdercomprises fastening means for fastening the elongated holder to an upperend of the corner turret, wherein the elongated holder comprises twoguides provided in opposite flanks of the elongated holder,respectively, for receiving the support member into a sliding position,and wherein when the support member is received by the elongated holderin a sliding position, the locking means is in an unlocking position,and the support member is slidingly movable in the longitudinaldirection of the elongated holder, and is supported by the two guides,wherein the elongated holder further comprises two locking railsextending along most of the length of the elongated holder and theflexible catch comprises two flexible arms, and wherein when the supportmember is in the sliding position, the two flexible arms are arranged toengage with the two guides, respectively, and when the snap-in lockingmeans is in the locking position, the two flexible arms are arranged todetachably fasten the support member to the two locking rails.
 2. Afastening system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking element iscomposed of a protrusion provided in the support member and arranged tobe locked into a recess in the elongated holder for achieving a tenonand mortise type of joint.
 3. A fastening system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the elongated holder is provided with a plurality of recessesalong the elongated holder.
 4. A fastening system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the two guides of the elongated holder each comprise a groove,each of the two grooves being configured to receive an end of arespective one of said two flexible arms when the support member is inthe sliding position.
 5. A fastening system for fastening a plate withinan enclosure, comprising: an elongated holder configured to be placedvertically within the enclosure and configured to be fastened to acorner turret within the enclosure; and a support member includingsnap-in fasteners configured to be placable in a locking position so asto detachably fasten the support member to the elongated holder, thesnap-in fasteners including a flexible component and a lockingarrangement configured to fasten the support member to the elongatedholder at different points along the length of the elongated holder whenplaced in the locking position, wherein the flexible component includesa flexible catch, which, during the placement of the snap-in fastenersinto the locking position, is configured to yield in a directionperpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the elongated holder,wherein the locking arrangement includes at least one locking elementarranged to keep the support member locked in the longitudinal directionof the elongated holder substantially inflexibly, wherein an uppersurface of the support member includes a fastening arrangement forfastening the plate to the support member, and wherein an upper end ofthe elongated holder includes a fastening device configured to fastenthe elongated holder to an upper end of the corner turret, wherein theelongated holder comprises two guides provided in opposite flanks of theelongated holder, respectively, for receiving the support member into asliding position, and wherein when the support member is received by theelongated holder in a sliding position, the locking arrangement is in anunlocking position, and the support member is slidingly movable in thelongitudinal direction of the elongated holder, and is supported by thetwo guides, wherein the elongated holder further comprises two lockingrails extending along most of the length of the elongated holder and theflexible catch comprises two flexible arms, and wherein when the supportmember is in the sliding position, the two flexible arms are arranged toengage with the two guides, respectively, and when the snap-in lockingfasteners are in the locking position, the two flexible arms arearranged to detachably fasten the support member to the two lockingrails.
 6. A fastening system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the twoflexible arms are configured to be snapped in the locking position, thepair of flexible arms clamping the elongated holder and providingresilient forces to bear against side surfaces of the elongated holderin the direction perpendicular relative to a longitudinal direction ofthe elongated holder.